2-Gun Western, February 1954 — page 52: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

$2 ERLACH seated himself and shoved his hat back on his head. When his meal was put before him he began to eat, his eyes following the girl. Fred seemed preoccupied, he kept scowling a little and he said something under his breath to Dutch. Gerlach looked over at Matt Ryan. “Ain’t seen you around before,” he said. , Ryan merely glanced at him, and continued eating. The eggs tasted good, and the coffee was better than his own. “Hear what I said?” Gerlach de- manded, Ryan looked up, studying the big- ger man calmly. “Yes,” he said, “and the remark didn’t require an answer.” Gerlach started to speak, then de- voted himself to his food. “That bay horse yours?” Hitch asked suddenly. . Ryan nodded...they had seen the horse, then? That was one trouble with Big Red, he was a blood-bay, and he stood out. It would have been better to have a dun or a buckskin... even a black. “It’s mine,” he said. Yet their curiosity and Fred’s un- easiness puzzled him. Why should Fred be bothered by him? “Don’t take to strangers around here,” Gerlach said suddenly. “You move on,” Ryan said nothing, although he felt something inside of him grow poised and waiting. No trouble, Matt, he warned himself, not here... “Hear me?” Gerlach’s voice rose. “We've missed some cows.” Kitty had come to the door, and her father was behind her. Hanna was a peace-loving man, but a stern one. “T heard you,’ Ryan replied quiet- ly, “an’ if you’ve missed cows, ride toward Thumb Butte.” Fred Hitch jerked as if he had been slapped, and Gerlach’s face went slowly dark. His eyes had been truc- ulent, now they were cautious, study- ing. “What’s that mean?” he asked, his voice low. “Ain’t that where Indian Kelly hangs out?” Ryan asked mildly. “You seem to know.” Gerlach was suddenly cold. “I figure you're a rus- tler_your ownself!” _ It was fighting talk, gun-talk. Matt Fred 2-GUN WESTERN Ryan made no move. He forked up some more eggs. “One man’s opin- ion,” he said. “But what would make ~ you think that? You’ve never seen me with a rope on my saddle, you’ve nev- er even seen me before. You don’t know where I’m from or where I’m going.” All this was true... Gerlach hesi- tated, wanting trouble, yet disturbed by the other man’s seeming calm. He had no gun in sight, and his rifle leaned against. the wall. Still, you couldn’t tell. He snorted and sat down, showing his contempt for a man who would take an insult without fighting, yet he was uneasy. Matt glanced up to meet Kitty’s eyes. She turned her face deliberate- ly, and he flushed. She thought him a coward. He lingered over his coffee, want- ing a word with her, and finally the others left. He looked up when the door closed behind them. “There’s a dance at Rock Springs,” he said sud- denly. “Would you go with me?” She hesitated, then stiffened a lit- tle. “I’d be afraid to,’ she said. “Somebody might call you a coward in front of people.” Scarcely were the words out when she was sorry she had said them. His face went white and she felt a queer little pang and half turned to- ward him. He got up slowly, his face very stiff. Then he walked to the door, There he turned. “You find it so easy to see a man die?” he asked, and the words were shocking in their tone and in the something that spoke from his eyes. E WENT out, and the door closed, and Hanna said, to his daughter, “I don’t want you speakin’ to men like that. Nor do I want you goin’ dancin’ with strangers. Just the same,’ he added, “I’d say that man was not afraid.” She thought about it and her fa- ther’s words remained with her. She held them tenderly, for she wanted to believe in them, yet she had seen the stranger take a deliberate insult without a show of resentment. Men had killed for less. Of course, she had not wanted that. (How he could have shown resentment without its EOPMIGLOOOKS (E@)